Monochromatic Thread
by Etoile Luna
Summary: Pre-game. When a rule was broken, a couple lives changed significantly. Joshua just wanted to listen to the antisocial Neku's music. But what happens when he broke the rule for too long? How will it affect their lives? Dedicated to Nirex. R&R please.


**A/N:**

Hello it's been a long time since I last posted anything here. :D This had actually been done for a while but I just got a chance to log in again in a while. This story is for my lovely BETA's belated birthday. :D This is dedicated for you Nirex~

BETA-ed by Nirex of course. :D Thanks for editing even though this is supposed to be a gift for you. haha.

**Pairing:** Other than Neku/Joshua!friendship, I didn't think I put any other significant pairing...

**Warning:** A dose of OOC-ness and perhaps sappyness. Hope it doesn't cause brain tumor =.='a

**Disclaimer**: I don't own TWEWY, Neku, Joshua, or any other character from it. All I have is this fic, and a few insignificant OCs.

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><p><strong>Monochromatic Thread<strong>

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><p><em>Invincible.<em>

That was always the word for the Composer of a city.

Another word is '_solitude_'.

Solitude was something a Composer was accustomed to.

Since the beginning to the end, a Composer's job meant to be alone. There was no one to trust, no one to rely on. They could only trust themselves. Not even their Producer, their higher ups, can be trusted. Their Conductor was no different. Those who worked directly under them…who knows if one day they would try to take over the position from their superior? But to be honest, why would they want to, anyway? Have they got no idea how lonely being a Composer is?

No, of course they do. Everyone with half a brain would understand that there was no such thing as satisfaction for human. People would always strive to get something better each and every time. They wouldn't be satisfied, even if they owned the world. No person would be satisfied by just standing below someone else. No one liked to be governed forever. So it's just natural that people—reapers—would try to climb to the top and throw their superiors away from their soft, comfortable throne. Loneliness was nothing compared to the feeling of superiority and power. Oh, and how a Composer had a LOT of those.

And Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu understood that fully well.

Ever since he decided to take the throne from his predecessor years ago, he had known how lonely this job could be. But he was ready to go through it.

No, Joshua was not a loner, nor was he an anti-social person. On the contrary, he was a people's person. He loved observing people, and conversing with them was always his favorite pastime. One wouldn't say that Joshua Kiryu was the easiest person to get along with, but for some reason, nobody could really hate him, because as much as a jerk he could be sometimes, Joshua Kiryu was…well, he had a special charm. The thing was that he could relate to almost everyone. He had his views on society that almost too confusing for his peers, but somehow, he always managed to synchronize his views with others.

People neither liked nor hated Joshua. They would hate him for his annoying attitude, if only they could avoid trying to get the feeling of being understood from him. Being understood was something a human couldn't avoid yearning, for it gave them a sense of security, a sense of 'being accepted', a warmth that was comforting.

When he died, a lot of people missed that special warmth that his presence offered them. But nobody really missed Joshua's own self. Nobody really bothered to understand this human with the name of Yoshiya Kiryu.

But it was fine, since Joshua himself never really bothered to open up to any of them. He wasn't missed, and didn't miss anyone.

Joshua was far more perceptive than any other person. He could relate to almost everyone, but at the same time, almost nobody could relate to him. But he was not lonely, of course not. A lot of people came to him, seeking comfort and understanding. He would offer wise words, but few would sink in and understood. He understood people, but as the consequences, people couldn't understand him.

But he was never lonely. There was nothing to be sad about. Why should he be sad and lonely because he was far wiser than others? That would be stupid. No, he was not lonely. He had no reason to be.

A Composer's job meant to be alone.

That suited him just well.

After all, nothing would change, even if he took the job.

He was always alone, in a sense.

What was loneliness?

Not a word in his book, that's for sure.

And years passed by peacefully like the blowing of the wind for the Composer of Shibuya.

Until on one fateful day, as a game went wrong, decisions was made, and debts were paid. This is their story.

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><p>The gray haired Composer listened to the different kinds of music flowing through the veins of a beautiful city of Shibuya. He loved listening to different kinds of tune, bad or good, like a guitar being picked gently, or a drum-set being hit vigorously in his precious little orchestra. He saw how people would fight for the last piece of clothes on sale. How they would cry and scream at the sight of a skinny blonde with a blog which was accessed by more than a thousand people each day. He had to smile. Those musicians had what it took for his little orchestra to sound more interesting each and every day.<p>

His smile faltered a bit as he noticed a different little musician. It was a little boy whose hair had a fiery color of passion which the owner lacked. The boy was in his early teen, with eyes as dull as a thousand year old knife. You must think he lacked the excitement in his music like other normal people. But that wasn't so. The boy didn't lack excitement in his music. His instrument wasn't even played, nor was it even touched. The boy's music was silent as a bird with laryngitis.

Joshua Kiryu rubbed his chin, thinking curiously as he watched the boy from his favorite spot in Shibuya; the top of the 104 building. He tried his best to listen, but the boy was indeed very quiet. His attitude was also nothing to be proud of. He was something of a loner. He didn't like interacting with people. He spent his time drawing on his sketchbook, on his notes, on his paperwork, on everything he could spot within reach. His drawing was great. He had an enormous amount of imagination that could make even his Producer stare in awe.

But his attitude was something else.

Joshua frowned. Why couldn't something as amazing as that be balanced with an attitude nearly as well? He had enough imagination to fill a thousand cups and it would still be overflowing.

Needless to say, the boy intrigued Joshua.

He continued to watch over the boy, day by day. But the boy was as silent as ever, even as months passed by. He didn't even go near his instruments. Even as Joshua tried to offer some new interesting instruments to him, he didn't falter. No matter how many people tried to reach out to him, none was answered.

That was it. Joshua's interest was piqued.

Why wasn't that boy interested in his instruments?

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><p>Joshua took out a box from his personal belongings. He took out a small pin from the box and smiled in a rare nostalgia at the little tin object on his palm. It was the very pin that let him win the game several years ago. That very pin was the one that brought him all the way to the top. It was a little memento from the day of his death, the day his new life began. He closed his fingers around the round object and took another pin from the shelves. He smiled as the white skull glistened under the dim lighting of the luxurious room of his office.<p>

"Yo, J, I—" a man's voice suddenly interrupted his trail of thoughts as he entered the chambers of the Room of Reckoning with a little shove to the door. "What's up, Boss? Is that your old pin I see you with?"

"Ahh, Sanae, it's a pleasant surprise," the Composer greeted his little intruder with a smile. "What brings my dear Producer here to my humble quarters?"

The angel gave a frown, not responding to the blatant teasing. "I was going to give you a report on the latest game. But more importantly, what are you doing with that, J?" he questioned as he placed a stack of papers on a nearby table near the door.

"I'm having a little trip down the nostalgia line if you haven't noticed yet, my dear Producer," the Composer replied with a giggle. "It's been a long time since I last saw this little trinket that brought me to this very place. It's pretty isn't it? Even though it's not pink." Another giggle.

Sanae Hanekoma, a senior angel and Producer of Shibuya gave a sigh as he took the answer as his 'boss's' reluctance to answering his questions. He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck as he gave his usual grin to the Composer. "Whatever you intend to do, J, make sure you don't cross the line," he said softly as he turned to exit through the door. He cast the Composer one last cautionary glance before exiting the huge lobby-like room. The Composer gave a light giggle as an answer of 'I catch your drift, no need to worry about me'.

Joshua immediately returned his attention to the small tin trinket on his hand and once again returned to his thoughts. He closed the small container box and placed it back where it belonged.

'_No breaking the rules…do you know that you're no fun my dear Producer?'_ he thought to himself as he turned around and smiled knowingly. The ashen haired Composer closed his eyes and gripped the pin on his hand tightly. A minute later, he looked at himself on the mirror nearby and smiled in approval. A boy in his early teen was staring back at him with a mischievous glint in his violet eyes. His lips curled in an impish smirk.

Yes, he was ready to once again, face the world of living.

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><p>Neku Sakuraba was annoyed.<p>

He swore under his breath as he rummaged through his schoolbag frantically. He could've sworn he had put that damn drawing pen there this morning, so why wasn't it there? He took a deep breath and threw the bag back to the floor with more force than necessary. He let out an exasperated sigh and tried to look in his table locker. Still no drawing pen.

He was beginning to think that today was not his day. First, he had overslept and missed breakfast this morning. When he arrived, he found out that he hadn't done his math homework which was due today. Later on, a classmate accidentally bumped him when he was walking and scattered his books all over the floor. And now? His drawing pen was missing and he couldn't vent his anger on a piece of paper like he usually did whenever he felt irritated.

Yes, sir, Neku Sakuraba was annoyed.

He threw his arms over his table and his forehead met the wooden surface of the table with a light bump. He wished today was over already, even though it's just begun. His ears was beginning to ring too as he listened to his classmates chattering in class. In this kind of situation he wished that he could just yell at them and throw them out of the class to leave him in peace.

Neku was never the sociable person. On the contrary, he was a loner. He had no interest in people, or in anything else other than drawing. Drawing was his passion. Art was everything. Art was the only thing that could understand him. There's no need to bother trying to make other people understand you. They could never do that. They couldn't even understand themselves, so why bother trying to make them understand others? That's futile. And stupid. And Neku Sakuraba was anything but stupid.

Although, there's always math.

He hated math with passion. He couldn't understand the significance of the subject, or why people even bothered trying to learn it. Sine! Cosine! Tangent! …those things only served to make his head throb. Neku hated math because it made him look stupid, even though he clearly wasn't. Oh no, he wasn't stupid. He just…hated it, that's why.

A light tap on his head woke him up from his train of thoughts and he lifted his head with a big frown. Who dares bothering the great Neku Sakuraba? This had better be important.

He lifted his brows though, as he came face to face with a boy with ashen colored hair and an all-knowing smirk that made him want to punch its owner to oblivion in a second. The boy's violet eyes glinted with a slight hint of amusement as their owner gave a…giggle? Oh god, did that boy—it was a boy, right?—just giggled at him?

Suddenly the boy shoved something towards Neku that made the orangette straighten himself surprisedly. The orangette's blue eyes trailed down to meet the offending object and they widened as he saw a small black tube on the boy's palm. His drawing pen!

"It flew when you dropped your books," the boy offered still with his infuriating smirk. Neku frowned. No wonder he couldn't find the stupid thing anywhere.

"Ah, yeah," the orangette said as he took back the cylinder from the boy. The boy stood with one hand in his pocket and nodded.

"You ARE welcome, dear," the silverette said as he placed his bag on the seat next to Neku's. The orangette lifted one of his brows. Whoever thanked him anyways? And who was he? He had never met the boy before in his life. The boy had long hair and his clothes were of Pegaso's, so surely he's a trend buff. Like many others.

Neku was never a follower of trends. Trends were stupid. They fooled people to buy something so they could look similar to others. What was the fun in dressing the way everybody else did? Neku believed in originality. He dressed as he liked and with whatever brand he wanted. Preferably Jupiter of the Monkey, because they were cool and comfortable. Who cares if they weren't in style? If he liked them, what else did he need from them?

He was once again pulled away from his train of thoughts as his homeroom teacher entered the class. She was a middle-aged woman with thick brown hair pulled into a bun on top of her head. She wore glasses and put on a thick dark red lipstick, just to look fashionable—which Neku thought was stupid of course. Her name was Miss Ono. She was also their math teacher, which added to more reasons for Neku to dislike her. He didn't hate her, hate was too strong of a word, but he disliked her still. The teacher clapped her hands and the students immediately scrambled back to their seats. The woman stepped onto her podium and cleared her throat.

"Well class, we have a new friend today," she said as she smiled. "There's a transfer student who will stay with us for some time. I've already gave him an okay to go to class earlier and I believe he's already here. Come introduce yourself to the class, Kiryu."

Neku lifted one brow as he watched the stranger sitting next to him stood up and walked up next to Miss Ono. Even the way he was standing looked conceited. Hmm…what a prick, Neku thought to himself as the boy nodded to the class still with the all-knowing smirk plastered on his face.

"My name is Yoshiya Kiryu, but Mother and Father called me Joshua, so I guess you can call me that too, since you're all my dear, dear classmates," he gave a giggle. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'll be troubling you for some time starting from now on, but please be nice to me."

Miss Ono smiled kindly as she wrote down the name of the boy on the blackboard. "Kiryu is going to stay in our class as long as he's still in Shibuya. His parents travel a lot so he's always transferring school. Let's give him a pleasant memory while he's with us, shall we?"

The class clapped for their comrade while Neku merely stared blankly to the newcomer. Huh, just another stranger who would be gone soon enough. That's no surprise. People came and went just like that. There was no reason trying to get close to them because they would just be gone sooner or later. It was too much of a bother trying to get close to someone who would just disappear, so Neku never even bothered to try. It was pointless and a waste of time and energy.

The boy—Kiryu—seemed to have finished his introduction, so he walked back to his seat. He gave Neku a playful smirk as he walked to the seat next to the orangette. Neku gave a frown. What's his problem? If he thought Neku was going to be nice to him like his other classmates would, he was in for a big disappointment.

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><p>Sure enough, on lunchtime, the boy immediately approached Neku and offered his hand. Neku—who was lying lazily on his desk—eyed the boy's stretched hand lazily and glanced sluggishly up to its owner. The boy's ever-present smirk was still annoying him to no end. But if the boy knew, he paid no attention and kept his smirk on.<p>

"I believe I introduced myself in front of the class already, but I think the traditional introduction is in order," he stated, hand still stretched out waiting to be reciprocated. "The name's Yoshiya Kiryu, but you can call me Joshua. You _should_ call me Joshua." He corrected. "There you go. Now, it's your turn. I didn't believe I've caught your name?"

Neku looked in annoyance at the boy before turning his head to the other side in irritation. There, the boy approached him just as he thought he would. How annoying. He would just ignore him, letting him wait until he gave up and leave. He would just do so sooner or later.

Neku gave a pretty-much-audible yelp when he turned his head to the other side and seeing that his new classmate was already there, looking down at his notebook. When did he get there? The silverette gave a low hum as he looked at the simple white notebook.

"Neku Sakuraba," Joshua dictated. "Charming." He commented. The orangette took a deep breath as he straightened up, still trying to calm down his racing heart.

"The hell? When did you—" he stopped when the boy started flipping through the pages of his notebooks. "Hey, who gave you permission to mess with my belongings? Give that back you little—"

Joshua turned away, which forced Neku to stand up and reached out frantically trying to get back his book. The former merely dodged a little each time Neku almost snatched his book from the silverete. Joshua gave a light giggle when the orangette finally did and placed his hands in his pocket, eyeing his classmate in amusement.

"You're into graffiti, that's cute," the ashen haired boy said as Neku growled under his breath, placing the book back into his desk locker. "So that's what kept you distracted while Miss Ono was teaching earlier, hmm? That's not nice to just ignore someone who's just trying to help you out with your grades, you know."

"Shut up," the orangette spat. "Mind your own business, you prick."

"The name's Joshua, dear," the silverette giggled. Neku grumbled as he sat back down on his seat. Joshua followed suit as he sat on the chair in front of Neku's desk, facing the orangette while folding his arms on the back of the wooden seating.

"So, how long have you been into graffiti?" Joshua asked as his violet orbs carefully scanned the boy opposite him. "How do you like art in general? Who's your favorite artist?"

Neku bit back a growl of annoyance as he buried his face in his arms. Joshua giggled. "Where do you live? How long have you been in Shibuya? How do you like this city?" he questioned further, knowing how much it annoyed the teen sitting opposite him. "What do you think of the people of this city? What's your favorite food? Where do you usually hang out and with whom?"

Neku tried to block out the endless chattering of the transfer student but to no avail. He counted to ten in his mind, took several deep breath, heck, he even tried doing some meditation in his mind but nothing seemed to be able to calm him down. The boy's nonstop questions were starting to make him dizzy.

Finally he had enough as he slammed his palms on the table and stood up, staring threateningly down to the silverette in front of him—who didn't seem the least bit shocked at his sudden outburst.

"Didn't you hear me the first time? I said, _Shut. The. Hell. Up_!" he yelled, causing several other people to stare at them in shock. Joshua lifted his brows, still smirking to the angry teen.

"Do my questions bother you?" he asked calmly. "Don't you like talking? Or perhaps you're not interested in any of the topics I offered you? Why don't you tell me what you want to talk about then?"

Alright, that's it, Neku thought as he gave the poor table one last slam before he trotted out of the classroom, fuming like a volcano. The classroom sliding door was the next victim of the infuriated teen as he slammed it close, stomping his feet loudly as he walked down the halls. Joshua gave an amused giggle. Somehow he found it amusing seeing the teen so angry like that. Really, most of the people he knew would give up and started talking with Joshua when he talked himself silly for around five minutes, but this boy took ten before he finally exploded and walked out of the room. Really, he's one fascinating boy.

His music would surely be one magnificent piece.

A girl with pigtails suddenly tapped the silverette's shoulder, asking for his attention. And Joshua did give it to her. He smiled with a look that said, 'yes, what is it?' and the girl shook her head at him. She huffed before she started talking while folding her arms in front of her chest, "Don't mind Sakuraba, he's always like that," she said. "Sakuraba hates people. No one has ever got close to him since he began enrolling in our school. You shouldn't bother trying, you wouldn't get anywhere. Trust me. We've tried."

"Oh really?" Joshua said as he giggled, eyeing the poor sliding door of the classroom. "Perhaps you didn't try hard enough?" he offered. The girl shook her head again.

"Of course we did. We tried asking him out to eat with us at lunch, try to offer some class notes when he went out sick, and even tried conversing with him about his beloved graffiti art and still nothing works," she said. "He's a hopeless case if you ever saw one."

Joshua 'hmm'-ed softly as he examined the girl. Her music told him she was telling the truth. Oh well, it's fine. That would just mean that this Neku Sakuraba would be a hard one to crack. But no matter, Joshua loved challenges and games.

After all, he ran the game of life and death, didn't he?

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><p>The rest of the classes went out smoothly. Joshua didn't try talking to Neku all along the classes and that was a great relief to the orangette. Honestly, that boy was annoying him on his first day of school? He got some nerve.<p>

"So, fancy going out for some ramen perhaps?" he spoke too soon. Neku groaned as he stared at the boy with the violet eyes threateningly. He took a deep breath. He'd try playing it calm.

"For the last time, no, leave me the hell alone," he warned. Joshua giggled. Apparently the kid's got a death wish. The silverette sat down in front of the orangette once again, seemingly ready to begin another session of 'annoy the hell out of Neku' show. The blue eyed teen groaned.

"Don't be like that, dear," Joshua said as he ran a hand through his messy silver locks. "I'm just wondering if you're interested in going for some food. I'm in a mood for some ramen and I know a great place in Dogenzaka that serves great ramen. We can spend some quality time." He giggled, which made Neku shiver. That laugh and that...that...innuendo...it was just wrong. "So? What do you say?"

"I say, go fuck yourself," Neku said as he stood up, taking his bags and started walking out of the classroom. "Unless you're interested in having a bloody nose, I suggest you stay away from me. And don't even bother trying to talk to me anymore, got it? Good, farewell."

Joshua lifted his brows. Ah, the boy really got one dirty mouth. Yes, he's pretty amusing. His soul was really bright too, even though it's covered with black shadows all around. There must be some way to crack that tall wall. Once the first wall's down, the rest should be easy.

"Kiryu." A kind woman voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. The woman he knew as Tatsumi Ono, their homeroom teacher was standing next to him with a sympathetic smile. "I saw what you did. You did an admirable job trying to get close to Sakuraba. I commend you for trying. But you shouldn't push him too far. Sakuraba can be violent if he's pushed too far. He's a good kid, but he's not that good in socializing."

"Oh no really?" Joshua said sarcastically, giggling at the end of the sentence. "Tell me then, Miss Ono, is there something that he likes? Other than snubbing people of course. Is there something? Something that…let's just say…is irresistible to him?"

Ono seemed to be thinking very, very hard. Joshua waited patiently. Knowing your enemy's weakness before advancing to the front line was a very important strategy. Sure, the woman might be the same with everyone regarding Neku's social capability. But Joshua's determined to crack that wall. He had never lost any game and he wasn't going to start anytime soon.

Suddenly the teacher smiled brightly as she fumbled through the thick file in her arms. She pulled out a bundle of papers that seemed to be a report or something and handed it to the transfer student. Joshua eyed the paper, titled in big letters: "CAT's Graffiti Collection by Neku Sakuraba". Ono smiled fondly at the report.

"He's asked to do that by his art teacher. He praised Sakuraba's wide knowledge about the artist. It's like he's known the person his whole life," she said as Joshua flipped through the pages, scanning the report carefully. "One might even say he's obsessed with the artist, but I wouldn't say so. He just happens to be a very big fan of CAT."

Joshua gave a very meaningful smirk as he handed back the report to the teacher. "Well, thank you very much for indulging me in this fascinating information," he said politely. "I believe I have enough to go on for now. You were very helpful."

And as he said that, he immediately left for Cat Street and into a certain café named Wildkat.

Let's just say that a certain artist's new sketches for his next project went missing mysteriously that day.

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><p>Neku let out a big yawn. At least he didn't get up late today, but he had been reading the newest art book collection of CAT's the entire night. Man, that guy's awesome! Neku let a slight smile reach his lips unbeknownst to anybody else. He couldn't wait to return home and read the book again. He had only read it ten times last night and he couldn't wait to read it ten more times when he got home. Why couldn't this day end faster?<p>

Suddenly a familiar ashen haired figure sat down on the seat in front of him and a smug smirking face of Yoshiya Kiryu greeted him good morning. Neku let out an inward groan. What a way to start the day.

But the kid did something other than talking today. He shoved a bundle of papers to the orangette out of the blue, and the blue eyed boy eyed the paper curiously, before returning to eyeing the silverette more curiously. Surely, those didn't belong to Neku, right? So what now? Joshua only gave him an even wider smirk as he placed the bundle in front of the orangette.

Out of curiosity, the blue eyed boy flipped through the pages of the bundle and when he did, his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He flipped through the papers again and again and he eyed the silverette with a look akin to bewilderment. Joshua gave a giggle to that as he leaned back to the table behind him.

"So, what do you think about that?" he asked. Neku shook his head as he scanned through the papers once again. "Don't tell me you don't recognize those artworks. It's the work of Shibuya's most famous artist."

"Holly shi—! So I was right!" Neku exclaimed as a smile fought its way to his lips. "This is really CAT's, isn't it? Seriously dude, where did you get this?"

"Fascinating isn't it?" the silverette said. "They're still in form of rough sketches but when the guy's done with the real thing, it's going to be splendid, don't you think?"

"Are you insane? This is…this is…I don't know what to say! A real, a fucking real sketch of CAT's! Seriously, how did you get your hands on these?" he asked impatiently. Joshua giggled.

"It's a secret, but trust me, those are genuine," he said. "Do you like them?"

"Do I like them? Damn!" Neku exclaimed excitedly. "These are priceless!"

"I take it that you like it," Joshua nodded. "They're yours then."

Neku's eyes went even wider. "Seriously? Are you freakin' serious?" he asked, not believing his ears. When Joshua nodded, an even wider grin bloomed on the boy's lips. "This is great! I can't believe this!"

"Under one condition, of course," as Joshua smirked, Neku's turned into a frown. Of course. He had to have planned this. The guy must've somehow found out that Neku was a CAT fanatic and was determined to make use of it. But the bribe was far too exciting to be passed. So, though highly and greatly reluctantly, the orangette gave nod to the silverette.

"Okay, what's the deal?" he asked. Joshua's smirk went victorious at that. Okay, he managed to get to the wall. Now all that's left was to fire the first bullet to the solid barrier.

"Meet me after school in Udagawa, in front of the Cyco Recs Record Store," he said. "I'd like to show you something interesting. Trust me, you won't regret it."

Neku highly doubted it, however. But he agreed to it nonetheless.

After all, who would be crazy enough to pass free genuine sketches of CAT's unpublished artwork?

* * *

><p>Neku tapped the railing of the stairs on Udagawa impatiently. Seriously, they were in the same school, same class too, so why bother going separately? He had been waiting for fifteen minutes since the school ended. He was determined to just meet the guy and get this over with as quickly as possible. But seriously, if the guy didn't show up in another five minutes…<p>

"Waiting long?" Neku rolled his eyes. Speak of the devil, he thought as he huffed with irritation. He stood akimbo next to the silverette and frowned at him with a great displeasure.

"Gee, I don't know, what do you think?" he asked sarcastically. Joshua let out a giggle.

"Ah, good, I knew I was right on time," the violet eyed teen said as he started walking away towards the back of Udagawa Streets. "Let's go then, Neku dear."

"Stop calling me that, it's creepy," Neku protested, but as he expected, it was ignored by the silverette. "What do you want to show me anyways? What's here in Udagawa other than garbage dump and menacing backstreets?"

But Joshua merely smirked at him. "There's more to it than meets the eye, dear, trust me," he said as he continued walking. Neku shrugged and followed the silverette. They finally reached the backstreets of Udagawa. There was a huge pile of metal garbage at the corner that made Neku cringe. Those stupid guys…didn't they know more than to pile their garbage where they belong? Like, up their stupid ass, for example. Joshua stopped abruptly, causing Neku to almost stumble to the other boy. He was about to reprimand the kid when he started talking, "Here we are. Feast your eyes on this, Neku."

Neku's eyes immediately widened at the sight before him. CAT's graffiti decorated the entire wall of Udagawa Backstreet and stood proudly, staring back at the two teens in front of it. The art was the biggest one Neku had ever seen. Not even in his art book collection had he ever found CAT's work this magnificent and this big. Joshua must've noticed the big smile decorating the other teen's lips and giggled—girlishly as usual of course.

"So, how do you like it?" he asked. "Cool isn't it?"

Neku's brain was a mess. A great, big, CAT mess. He fumbled through words but couldn't find anything appropriate to say. "This…this is just—I don't know what to say…this is simply…wow!" he said. "When did the guy make this?"

"Oh I don't remember. It has been here since about four to five years ago I think," Joshua said.

"Then how come I've never noticed this before?" Neku questioned. "You'd think something this big is hard to miss." Joshua giggled.

"Oh I haven't the faintest idea, dear," he said. "Perhaps it's because you refuse to listen to the world around you?"

Neku knew what the guy was implying and he scoffed. "Granted, I don't speak with people," he agreed. "But why should I try talking to people who don't even understand me? Why should I waste my time trying to educate them about something they aren't going to understand anyway?"

Ahh, now we're talking, Joshua gave a victorious smile inwardly. "That's true," the silverette gave a sincere agreement to the opinion. "No matter what you do, or how much you try, people won't be able to truly understand what others think."

"They would just pretend to agree, but deep inside, who knows what they're thinking," Neku said, fingering the graffiti covered wall. "People are liars. They hide their true intentions behind this mask called friendship, while deep down they only want to use their so called friend for their own benefit."

Joshua's smile was unreadable as he gave yet another nod. "Point well taken. But really, are those friends even mind being used at all?" the silverette's point seemingly intrigued Neku as the latter turned to meet the other's violet orbs. "In the end, if it becomes a mutual symbiotic relationship, should people even object to being used as they also in fact, used the other party? In a mutual symbiotic relationship, both parties live thanks to the other. It's a win-win situation, won't you agree?"

Neku scoffed. "Easy for you to say," he said. "Humans are not like animals. Animals wouldn't know their hands from their feet, and wouldn't realize that they're being a tool for someone else's sake."

"Kudos to you for realizing," Joshua said, making Neku glare at him. "No really, dear, it is as you say. People are civilized animals. We have the knowledge to see the right from the wrong, and thus, the term 'using' is formed by us as well. Animals don't understand the term 'using' or 'being used' and being involved in such thing as symbiotic relationship isn't something to be sore about."

"Exactly my point," Neku sighed. Joshua giggled.

"But humans are bound with something called trust," he said. "The only thing that binds two civilized animals together is this bond. It is something that holds up people's honors. As you can see two creatures in a symbiotic relationship don't deliberately harm each other. So, those who betrays the trust given to them is lower than animals, don't you think?"

"Lower than animals, huh?" Neku snorted. "Maybe so then. In the end people will betray each other for their own self. Why should one give trust to those who aren't even worth it?"

Joshua tilted his head. "I wonder, where did this bitterness come from, hmm?" he questioned. "Do I sense a bad experience in the past?"

The orangette shrugged. "Nah, I'm just perceptive, that's all," he answered lazily. "People usually do not realize this. They'd be better off unaware anyways. Ignorance is bliss, they say."

Joshua smiled knowingly. "And if it's so, what's left for those who can't be ignorant?" he questioned again. "I'm sure you're not alone out there, Neku dear. Lots of people are as perceptive as you. But I don't hear them complaining. And why do you think is that?" Neku rolled his eyes.

"Who knows? Perhaps you can tell me if you're so smart then," he sighed. Joshua smirked and Neku immediately felt he had just stepped into a landmine.

"Sure, give me a week," he lifted his index finger. "I'll give you _my_ answer to that question. Or better yet, you can experience yourself the answer I can offer you."

Neku snorted. "Are you asking me to hang out with you for a week?" Joshua giggled and played with a stray strand of his ashen colored hair.

"My, sharp as a tack aren't you," he answered. "Here's the deal. Spend one week with me. If you can see the significance of spending time with others within that span of time, I win. If you can't, I lose. The loser has to treat the winner to a bowl of ramen. What do you say? Are we game?"

The orange haired boy gave a challenging smirk back at the ashen haired boy. "And there's a reason why I should?" he asked back. Joshua's smirk went wider.

"What's the matter? Afraid you're going to lose?" he taunted. Neku scoffed.

"I'm not falling for that," he said as he turned around, giving Joshua the 'sorry, wrong guy' attitude. Joshua giggled.

"Well too bad, you're playing whether you like it or not," the silverette smirked. "You do owe me for those sketches after all."

And as he said that, he grabbed the other's wrist and started dragging him away from the backstreet of Udagawa and from CAT's magnificent graffiti. Neku let out a yelp and started dragging his feet in protest but if Joshua noticed Neku's growing irritation, he didn't show it. Joshua's cold hand held Neku's in a tight grasp that it was starting to hurt. Neku winced. For a skinny guy, Joshua had a pretty strong grip.

The silverette took Neku to the nearest music store. Neku sighed as he and Joshua entered the crowded shop. Joshua immediately started browsing through the newest music the store had. Neku resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course. As if this could make him recognize the benefit of having friends, he thought.

"What kind of music do you listen to, Neku dear?" Joshua questioned as he looked at one album. Neku shrugged.

"I'm not that big of a music fan," the orangette replied. "And stop calling me 'dear' already!"

"Really? I think you just haven't realized the real charm of musical pieces, Neku _dearest_," Joshua said, putting an emphasis on the 'dearest' part. Neku rolled his eyes. "What about I give you some of my favorite albums and you try listening to them for starter hmm? Perhaps you can tell me your own perception of the songs."

Neku sighed. "Kiryu, for your information, I have plenty of music collection," he said, crossing his arms. "I just listen to them to kill some time. What's so special about music anyway? They're just a bunch of notes put together that create something called melody. That's all there is."

Joshua giggled. "Oh believe me, there is more to that," he said, placing his hand in his pocket and lifted the disc case in the other. "Music represents the thoughts and feelings of its composer. Not only that, it also represents the skill of the musician. A composer might be able to compose a great song, but a great song is not a song without musicians to play them. With those talent and skill put together, music can explore to the deepest of human soul and soothe even a raging beast. Don't you find it fascinating that from music you can travel around into a person's thoughts without having to actually interact with the person themselves?"

Neku once again rolled his eyes and sighed. "You speak more than a dozen pregnant women put together," he sighed. "Fine, so music is a way of communicating, so what? What if I don't want to communicate, or even know about how a person I don't even know is feeling? What's the point in listening to music then?"

Joshua folded his arms. "You like graffiti," he said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Tell me, why do you like it? Surely there's a reason for it."

Neku thought for a moment, deciding to just humor the kid. He'll get tired sooner or later, Neku thought to himself. "Why? I just like them. There's no special reason to it," he replied as he twirled a strand of his orange hair.

"Alright, what about CAT's graffiti?" the silverette asked. "What makes them so special?"

Neku felt a smile creeping to his face. "CAT's graffiti…they're a real work of art," the orangette said. "The guy's art just scream 'Enjoy the moment' in every single detail. That's real cool, you know. Enjoy the moment…and that's what I'm doing. I'm enjoying my every moment. Just do what I want, be where I wish, and live as long as I want."

Joshua's face was unreadable and Neku felt like the guy's stripping him with his eyes. "W-what?" he scowled. Joshua giggled.

"Your face is priceless," he commented before returning to the stack of DVDs. Neku rolled his eyes.

"Who asked you?" he growled in annoyance. The silverette laughed at his response before once again turning to face the orangette.

"Very well, Neku dear, so you like the message lying underneath every one of CAT's artworks," he repeated. "So why don't you try to find out if any of these music here has any similar hidden message? Music is a work of art too, so it should contain some sort of hidden message too, don't you think?"

Neku sighed. "Look, prick, I've got lots of better things to do other than trying to find out some…underlying message behind each and every song I have in my mp3 player, alright?" he stated. "Honestly, I don't get what you're trying to do, taking me here and talking all these bullshit."

Joshua smiled slyly, "Oh, don't you?" he questioned rhetorically. "Very well then, I'll just grab what I want and we can leave shortly after. Why don't you wait here while I pay for this?"

Joshua smirked as he saw through the corner of his eyes Neku looking curiously at some new rock albums the store had in stock.

And nevertheless, Neku spent the rest of the night listening to some new songs he just bought earlier that day.

* * *

><p>The next day, Joshua took Neku to 104, Shibuya's most crowded shopping district. Neku was bored out of his mind the entire day and Joshua immediately registered the fact that fashion and Neku just didn't mix. He himself wasn't that big of a fashion freak, so he decided it should be alright to let this one slide. Even so, he and Neku did spend the rest of the day talking, about lots of random things.<p>

Neku felt weird. It was funny how Joshua's and his standpoint clashed and crossed each other but at the same time, they also agreed with each other. He could talk about the most random thing on earth and Joshua still could understand and brought about a new point of view that was neither his nor Neku's but a mixture of both. He felt strange. It was like…like Joshua could actually understand him without really understanding him. They clashed, but at the same time, they didn't clash at all. As uncanny as it sounded, it was actually true.

Joshua smirked. He hadn't lost his touch at all. He was still able to synchronize his opinion with others while still perfectly maintaining his principle. But he had to admit. Neku was an interesting person. He had thought about a lot of things that Joshua never bothered to think about before. Talking with him was really different. Their conversations opened up new perspectives for Neku and while Joshua didn't want to admit it, he himself gained some new perceptions about things. He didn't judge the kid wrong. Neku Sakuraba had indeed a magnificent amount of imagination and unlimited potential.

Joshua brought Neku to lots of different places in Shibuya. As usual, they spent most of the time talking. Usually, Neku would rather face a thousand mathematical problems than converse with people. But strangely enough…he didn't mind at all. Actually, he rather enjoyed their conversations. Joshua was…different. He was really…Neku couldn't find the exact word to describe the guy. All he had to say was that the ashen haired teen was different.

They went to Miyashita Park, they went to Cat Street—although they didn't meet Shibuya's Producer for Joshua thought it was far too early for Neku to meet his idol in the flesh—and they went to Towa Records for some new music. They also spent time eating lots of different things in different joints.

That's how Neku found out that Joshua _moans_ when he ate ramen—shio by the way.

At first, Neku just cringe as he watched the other enjoyed his ramen in his own, _unique_ way. But a slight amused smile crept to his lips nonetheless. A blackmailing plan formed in his head while he himself enjoyed his shoyu ramen. He had to admit, Joshua was right. Ramen Don served the best ramen he had ever tasted.

And they would always end their day by going to Udagawa to admire CAT's impressive mural.

Neku hated to admit it but he was really having fun spending time with Joshua. Joshua was a prick, a jerk, and a great source of annoyance. But he liked spending time with him nevertheless. He enjoyed the kid's vast amount of knowledge and his ability to make Neku enjoy his moments without actually doing what Neku himself really wanted.

For example the kid made him enjoy music in a way he never thought was possible—in fact he rarely left without his headphones now. He introduced Neku to different yet familiar things he seemed to have overlooked his entire life. He hated to admit it, but spending time with Joshua was fun.

But as they said, 'time flies when you're having fun' and before he knew it, it had already been a week since their little 'game' began.

"So?" Joshua asked as he sat down in front of Neku's desk in class. Neku lifted his eyes from his biology book and put on a 'what are you talking about' face. Joshua lifted his fingers. "Today marks the seventh day. How was it? Did you find the 'answer' I promised you?"

Neku frowned. It did indeed felt fun hanging out with Joshua. But he didn't want to admit that the boy was right about the whole spending time thing. He snorted and returned to his book, suddenly finding the picture of a skeleton very interesting. "Hah, as if," he said, tone as smug as possible. "The only thing I get is a sore throat from the constant talking you forced me to do."

Joshua feigned disappointment as he shook his head overly-dramatically. "Ah, that's too bad," he said. "I expected to win actually. But that's alright. I'm a man of my word. I'll treat you to a bowl of your favorite shoyu ramen after school today as I promised."

Neku gave a grin to that. "Lunch is going to taste extra good today," he commented and Joshua merely gave a giggle to that—something that Neku had unexpectedly gotten used to.

* * *

><p>"Mmm…I'm in paradise," Joshua moaned as he felt the last strand of the shio ramen slid down his throat. Neku made a face at that and chuckled as Joshua ignored him like usual. He took the cup of green tea on the table and downed the liquid in one gulp. He felt full. Joshua took a sip from his cup femininely as he smirked to his companion.<p>

"So, enjoying our last lunch, Neku dear?" Joshua asked as he leaned to the table with his elbow. Neku made a confused face at that. "Well, the deal said one week. After one week you're not compelled to spend time with me anymore. Don't tell me you don't remember that, hmm?"

Neku felt a sickening feeling in his stomach. Yeah, right, Joshua sort of forced him to hang out with him through the deal, but he never thought that…that Joshua would actually say something like that. But would Neku admit that he…liked spending time with the transfer student?

"As if I could forget something like that," he snorted. "It's something I've waited for the entire week after all." Did he really?

Joshua shrugged as he kept his smirk on firm. "Well, it was fun while it lasted," he said, sounding disappointed. "I hate to rush, but I've got somewhere to be in half an hour, so I'm leaving now." Joshua stood up immediately after saying that and Neku had to resist the urge to just follow him like he usually did. "It had been fun, Neku dear. Perhaps I'll see you sometimes at school?"

"Ah, yeah…" Neku felt something funny constricting his throat. He watched as Joshua paid for the ramen and left the joint, walking towards the Scramble. He sighed to himself. Well, there he was again, alone, as he liked it. But he couldn't help feeling that he would miss days like this, when he was actually _not_ alone.

He watched Joshua's retreating back with great confusion. Why? He was Neku Sakuraba and Neku Sakuraba hated spending time with people. And he hated especially people like Joshua.

So why did he feel impatient to spend more time with him?

Unbeknownst to him, a certain ashen haired Composer smirked victoriously as he left the ramen shop.

The bullet had been shot. Now, to wait for the result.

But deep down, he knew he had won their little game. He really couldn't wait to see that wall crack. How he wished he could make tomorrow come earlier.

Alas, Sanae would flip should he do that.

* * *

><p>The next day, as Neku arrived at school, Joshua was already there, talking to some girl with pigtails. He frowned as he walked to his seat. Joshua gave him a simple wave of hand before returning to his seemingly so interesting conversation with the girl.<p>

Neku actually scowled at that. Joshua was acting nonchalant today. But Neku was sure that the kid was going to return to his usual self and just plop down on the seat in front of Neku's sooner or later.

* * *

><p>Neku tapped his finger on the wooden table in front of him. The day almost ended and Joshua still acted like he didn't exist. Neku fidgeted on his seat. This was getting infuriating, he thought as he tapped his drawing pen at the table. Why did Joshua ignore him like that? Disappointment filled his head. And there he thought Joshua was his friend.<p>

His friend?

Neku Sakuraba considered someone a friend?

Neku couldn't believe himself as he banged his head to the table. Did he really think of the transfer student as his friend? That was disturbing. There was no way that could happen.

Somewhere inside he knew it already happened.

He gave an exasperated sigh as he watched the silverette closing his bag. The last bell had already rung and it was time to go home. And still no indication that Joshua noticed the orangette's presence. He huffed tiredly.

Joshua had ignored Neku the entire day. He didn't try asking Neku about the new pictures he drew, he didn't ask Neku if he wanted to spend lunch with him—instead, he went with some of the other boys in their class—and he didn't try to strike a conversation with Neku at all. Neku thought if this happened last week, he would be elated. He would be alone, enjoying his own presence without anybody bothering him. Just the way he liked it.

Notice the past tense though.

Neku grumbled. Apparently today waiting for Joshua to make the first move was as infuriating as waiting for a turtle to finish a 100 miles marathon. He stole a glance at the boy who was toying with his cell. The boy had packed his bag, obviously ready to go home. And still no indication of trying to talk with Neku.

Enough was enough.

He stood up, walking to the silverette's seat and put down his own bag on Joshua's table with more force than necessary. The silverette raised his brow at the blue eyed boy standing next to his table.

"Yes, Neku?" he asked. Neku cringe inwardly. And there he thought Joshua calling him 'dear' was creepy. It felt weird—coming from him—without the 'dear' part.

"I'm in a mood for hotdogs today," as he spoke, he could feel the entire class's eyes were on him. He ignored them the best he could as he continued. "What do you say?"

Joshua had to resist the urge to show his victorious smirk as he cast a glance at the clock on the wall. "What do you know, it's still early. If we can make it in five minutes, it would still be happy hour in Sunshine."

Neku didn't even bother to resist grinning at the silverette. "Then I suggest you move your lazy ass off that chair and we run for it." Joshua gave his usual smug smirk at the remark and stood up.

"Yes sir, hee hee."

The wall had cracked.

And a delightful tone of music began to flow from the once silent musician as his Composer broke through his sturdy wall.

* * *

><p>Joshua took a quick glance at his cell. It had already been about a month since he invaded once again the world of living. He smirked slightly. Ahh, time passed so quickly as you were having fun. He didn't go to RG to have fun actually, but he couldn't help it. He didn't even understand why he was having fun. Perhaps he had missed mingling with mortals since the day he died long ago. He liked his current condition. His classmates were interested in him—or rather his understanding nature—as it used to be years ago. He got to eat lots of good food with good company. He even had accomplished what he came to do. It couldn't be more perfect.<p>

A small ball of crumpled paper hit him straight on the head and he eyed the ball curiously. He opened the ball and a few scribbles and a word of '_bored_' immediately made him smile. He cast a glance at the suspect of the 'cannonball' and the said suspect—who happened to posses blue eyes and orange hair—merely shrugged. Math always did that to him. Joshua wrote a few words of his own for the guy and tossed the paper back to him. The guy being Neku Sakuraba frowned as he read the answer from the silverette.

'_And here I am playing the world's tiniest violin.'_

Neku rolled his eyes as he wrote back on the paper. He even added a fisted hand with one finger—one being the middle one—standing proudly on the paper. He re-tossed the paper to the silverette and hit the boy precisely on the nose. He had to choke back his laughter as the ashen haired teenager glowered at him for doing that.

'_Not funny, Neku. And oh, you really need to work on this elephant of yours. It looks too bloated to be considered normal.'_

The paper was tossed back and forth, relying one sarcastic message after another. This went on for at least half an hour before Miss Ono finally had enough. She stepped between the two abruptly, which caused the latest shot of 'cannonball' to hit her straight in the face. Neku had to stifle a snort as he threw away his gaze not-so-innocently and Joshua lifted his brow. The middle-aged lady took a deep breath as she picked up the fallen ammo from the floor, un-crumpling it and read its contents carefully. Neku rolled his eyes. Oh great, here comes the lecture…

"To the principal's office. Both of you," she said, taking deep breaths as to calm herself down. Her face was bright red from embarrassment—an aftereffect of reading the conversation between the two troublemakers—and fury. "Now."

"Aww, but Miss Ono..." Joshua giggled as he put on an obviously false apologetic look. The teacher shook her head.

"Don't aww Miss Ono me, Kiryu. I've warned you two a thousand times now. So, out. Now," she repeated. Joshua shrugged before smirking at the teacher.

"Don't I at least get a goodbye kiss from my baby bunny?"

By the time Joshua said that, Neku had already snickered much-too-loudly-for-comfort. Especially because the teacher had a priceless expression on her face after hearing that from her student.

"OUT NOW! BOTH OF YOU!" she growled as she pulled the two boys' collar and threw them out of the room. The two boys looked at each other before bursting out in laughter at the corridor, ignoring the fact that they were in fact, being punished.

"Man, Josh, you're an ass!" Neku said as he grinned to the ashen haired teen. Joshua giggled.

"Yes, that was pretty amusing wasn't it? Especially since she seems to recognize those words," he nodded with a smirk. Neku chuckled.

"She should, since they were that guy's words," the orangette said as the two started walking to the principal's office anyways. "Said to her in front of the entire class last week. Man, Mr. Hakai was pretty bold wasn't he?"

"That he was," Joshua agreed. "But seriously Neku, this is quite the predicament you got us into."

"Me? But it was your words that made her mad," Neku said accusingly while still grinning.

"Point well taken, but it was your notes that started this mess," Joshua replied. Neku rolled his eyes.

"I can't help it, I was bored!" he reasoned. "You know how much I hate math!"

Joshua smirked. "Seems like someone neglected to do his homework again," he said. "Tell me, what makes you hate math so, Neku dear?"

"I hate that the thing is so damn hard to figure out," the orangette threw his hands in the air. "Art is a thousand times understandable than math."

Joshua raised his brow. "Oh really? But math isn't that hard once you figure out what you're having trouble with," he denied. Neku narrowed his eyes disbelievingly.

"Why don't I believe you?" he rebuked. Joshua's smirk widened.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked. Neku rolled his eyes. There he went again with those 'games' of his, he thought. All this time, Neku had learned something about Joshua, and that was that the silverette LOVED games and challenges. And sure enough, Joshua continued confidently, "Very well, I'll prove to you I can make you understand math before the day ends. If I win, today's ramen will be your treat."

Neku smirked. "Consider yourself challenged then," he said.

Win or lost, Neku was going to benefit from this, so why not, the orangette thought as he grinned at his friend.

* * *

><p>"...so, what do you think?" Joshua smirked as he eyed the orangette who had a scowl on his face. Both were sitting in front of the principal's office, studying math for the last half hour. The grafitti loving teen sighed and threw his hands up.<p>

"Fine, fine, let's go to Ramen Don already!" The orangette found it hard to really be mad at the silverette, even though he had lost the bet.

The ashen haired teen had indeed fulfilled his word and made Neku understood his math exactly as the last bell rang. He had really made Neku understand maths with ease. It was really amazing how he managed to accomplish something that his teachers spent years trying to and not sucessful.

Joshua smirked smugly as Neku unwillingly admitted his defeat. Really, it wasn't all that hard teaching math to Neku. The boy was naturally bright and he had great imagination, so studying shouldn't be any hard for him if he had tried. All Joshua did was inducing a spark that ignited the boy's mind to start working on its own and...there you had it.

Neku grumbled. "That old man's never going to come out from that private bathroom of his," he said, reffering to their old principal. "Let's bounce. I'll go fetch our bags. If you come, you'd just dilly dally and we won't make it before night falls."

"Yes dear, hee hee," Joshua said, giggling amusedly. The orangette was really amusing. He really was a good kid and his music was indeed amazing. He felt proud knowing that he had accomplished a challenge so hard. It was a real accomplishment.

"Kiryu," Joshua turned to the source of voice that called him. Miss Ono stood akimbo beside him, frowning slightly. He offered her his usual smirk.

"Good day Miss Ono, I trust the class was fine without us?" He offered. Miss Ono sighed.

"Honestly, that was perhaps the worst prank you've ever played on me since you first came here," she shook her head. "But I'll let it slide because I'm happy to see the two of you getting along so well."

Joshua tilted his head. Miss Ono smiled kindly. "That was the first time since Sakuraba first enrolled in our school that he had passed notes in class instead of sleeping or doodling. And what's more, that was the first time he had laughed like that in ages."

Joshua was silent as Miss Ono gave a giggle. "To be honest, I was skeptical when you first tried to befriend Sakuraba, but now I see the error of my ways. I'm sorry for doubting you. I hope you'll continue to get along with him even after you leave Shibuya."

Joshua pondered about it a good minute. True. He did say he was going to be in Shibuya for only sometime—even though it was actually the exact opposite. But then again...what would Neku do after he left and how should he leave? Usually people kept in contact after they part ways. But how could he keep in touch with Neku when he was actually a dead person?

He had never thought it would be this confusing.

To be honest, this had strayed away from his plans long ago. He had never intended to be this close to his former silent musician. He had gone from being only his Composer to becoming his only friend. He had never thought Neku would grow to be so attached to Joshua.

Attachment.

That was something extremely forbidden for a Composer. He himself never thought he would become somewhat...fond of the boy. He found it hard to just leave. He worried that the boy might start becoming silent again once he left. He didn't want everything he had done to go to waste. He liked the boy's music. His music was so grand and unique. He had to be the brightest soul Joshua had ever encountered in Shibuya so far. And at the same time he was also the worst person he had ever found. But still...

He couldn't let this 'little talent' to go to waste.

"Josh let's go—" Neku paused as he saw his friend with their teacher. "Oh, Miss Ono..."

Ono smiled at her student, "Ah Sakuraba, I've just finished talking with Kiryu. Both of you may go home now, but remember, next time, I'll really punish the two of you."

Neku rolled his eyes. "Goody," he muttered as he snatched Joshua's wrist. "Let's bounce Josh."

Ono smiled at the two as Joshua—who was still deep in thought—let Neku drag him out of the school. The teacher let out a sigh as she thought about the two. That Kiryu boy had managed to accomplish something that nobody else had been able to do in just a week or so. She felt that it was such a shame that the boy had to leave again. Neku would feel the biggest lost when he did, but...perhaps it would be fine. They could still keep in touch. After all, that's what technology was for.

They should be alright. That, she believed.

* * *

><p>Neku sighed as he put his hands in his pockets and turned to his—unusually—silent friend and frowned. Joshua was being weird. He was too used to having the silverette talking so much that it was starting to bother him seeing the boy so quiet. What did the teacher say to him anyways?<p>

"Oi, Josh, we're here," he stated. Joshua's head snapped up in surprise as he nodded.

"Ah, yeah..." He said. Neku sighed again as he entered the open door of Ramen Don restaurant. He knew better than to bother Joshua when he was thinking like that. He should let him be because even if he tried to bother him, Joshua wouldn't pay any attention to him.

He knew it from experience. Because even though he had only known Joshua for a few while, he felt like he had known him forever.

Friendship was such a foreign thing for him. Before, he would've prefered to do something life-threatening—like maths for example—rather than befriending someone. But now, he felt lucky to have befriended Joshua. It felt fine, even with just the two of them. He felt proud to be able to call someone his friend. Not that he changed his mind about people though. Joshua was an exception, that's all.

"Neku," Joshua's voice interrupted his train of thought and made him turn around to face him. Joshua had a grim look on his face that made Neku frown. What was wrong? Joshua met his gaze and looked at him seriously.

"Neku what would you do if I say..." He paused, emphasizing on the importance of his words. "...that I'm leaving Shibuya in a week?"

Neku immediately felt his heart started beating faster. What? What did he just say? He shook his head. What? Why?

"...what?" Was all that Neku managed to say. Joshua shook his head.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten, Neku," the silverette said. "I told you when I first came here: my parents travel a lot. That makes my stay in Shibuya temporary."

"I know, but it's-I just don't...I mean...it's..." Neku shook his head. His brain was one big mess. He wanted to say lots of things but he couldn't find a word to express them. Of course he had known that Joshua would eventually move away from Shibuya, being travelers' son and all but...it was just too sudden! If Joshua was...they had just became good friends and yet...

Joshua stared as Neku tried to find a response to give his friend. But clearly enough, he wasn't about to give Joshua any response he wanted to hear. All he wanted to hear was that Neku'd be fine, that he wasn't going to return to the way he was before, even though he might not see Joshua anymore.

Joshua eventually gave a sigh and giggled, which made Neku frown. "Your face is priceless," the silverette supplied, his usual smirk painting his pale face. "Don't look at me like that Neku dear, I said, what if, didn't I? Your reaction is better than I had thought. Really you are so amusing my dear Neku."

Neku immediately felt himself flush in anger and relief at the same time. He immediately stomped his feet and turned around furiously. "Damn you Joshua you—I—just, argh!" He threw his hands in the air as he stepped towards their usual table and sat down angrily. He heard Joshua giggling again before sitting down in front of him, leaning his head against his palm.

"Ass," Neku glowered as Joshua once again giggled at the orangette. The silverette's smirk faded a little as he smiled wistfully to his friend.

"But seriously, Neku," he said. "We both know I'm going to move away again sooner or later. I'm wondering how you will cope without me, being so fond of me and all."

Joshua gave a carefree laugh at the end of his sentence, but Neku didn't feel the least bit comforted by that. He clenched his fists. This was one of the reason why he didn't want to have friends in the first place. People come and go, and this is one moment when one had to go. He didn't like it. Not at all.

"Hello, earth to Neku," Joshua waved his palm in front of the orangette's face, trying to get his attention. "Anybody home?"

Neku swatted his friend's hand and turned his head away. Joshua's grin faded entirely as he stared at his friend going back to his emo corner—something he had not done since a long time ago.

"Neku." Joshua's tone was firm, rather...scolding if you will as he addressed his friend.

"Just shut up Josh, I'm not in the mood right now," the orangette stated as he put on his headphones—yeah, he started wearing those often since a few weeks ago, CAT original of course—to block out his friend's voice. Joshua frowned.

"Neku," he called firmly. "Neku, stop that. I'm talking to you here."

Joshua gave a stern glare as Neku turned up the volume of his mp3 player. He sighed. This was getting annoying. Neku was deliberately ignoring Joshua, and Joshua wasn't the type who took being ignored lightly. No he wasn't.

Neku gave a yelp as Joshua snatched his headphones and placed them on the table. "Hey! What the hell?" He glowered. Joshua glared back.

"I am being serious, Neku," the ashen haired boy stated patiently. "I am thinking of things after my eventual move in the future."

"And I am not thinking about it anytime soon so too bad," the orangette replied stubbornly as he tried to reclaim his stolen headphones, only to discover that Josh had put them on his side of the seating. He sighed warningly. "Josh."

The ashen haired teen shook his head. "Come now Neku, I just want to know that everything is going to be alright with you. Is that too hard to say?"

The orangette snorted. "Hah yeah, what you're worried about me?" He asked sarcastically. Joshua, however, nodded firmly without hesitation. Upon seeing that, Neku immediately felt angry. What does that mean anyway? How old was Neku in his eyes? Two?

"You're a bright person, Neku, it will be a waste to just block away all those potentials just because you don't like people. I thought we've discussed this, one doesn't live alone. You're wasting your talent by insisting on staying by yourself," the silverette shook his head.

Neku twitched his eyes as he listened to Joshua. The guy often spoke about 'brightness', 'imagination', or 'potential' like it was the most normal way to describe people. Sure, Neku liked Joshua, but he couldn't help but feel annoyed everytime Joshua lectured him about this 'unlimited potential' of his and about his anti-social-ness that had to go and all.

Just because he hung out with Joshua didn't mean that he had to hang out with other people as well. He had stepped out of his comfort zone just by befriending Joshua, and the guy expected him to do so again? Sure, he liked hanging out with Joshua, but that's only because Joshua had an interesting personality that made him feel comfortable to be around with. But that's not like that with other people.

Other people would only care about others once they're satisfied enough caring about their own self. Themselves come first, they would care about others if they had time.

So why should Neku even bother trying to be with them?

He had his ideals, and those guys could keep theirs just fine. He had no problem with that. That's why others should have no problem with him keeping his.

And that's what he did by staying the way he was.

He was doing what he could to stay comfortable. Being with Joshua was no exception. The guy was comfortable to have around.

But others didn't.

Why did the kid insisted on making him hung around others anyways? Other people couldn't make him feel at ease. He wanting Neku to socialize more was just asking too much. He was comfortable this way.

"Are you listening to me, Neku?" Joshua was frowning, noticing how Neku had blocked him out by retreating into his thoughts. The orangette cracked one eye open-he had a habit to close his eyes when rambling in his head-and eyed his friend lazily.

"Done? Good, let's order," the blue eyed teen said simply as he flipped the menu lazily. Joshua sighed.

"I don't get you sometimes Neku," he said. "Here I am, being 'serious' as you often told me to, and you spend your time ignoring me."

"I didn't ask you to be serious," Neku denied. "I asked you to eat with me and all you've done so far is talking yourself hoarse. Who's stupid now?"

"I thought you don't like how people do not pay attention to others," Joshua said as he leaned to his palm. "Here I am worrying about you and you don't like it either. Make up your mind won't you dear, hmm?"

Neku twitched his eyes. Joshua was being extremely annoying today. Usually the kid knew when to stop but today he seemed more eager to see Neku angry. The orangette closed the menu and threw it aside. "I've lost my appetite," he stated as he stood up, reaching for his headphones before walking away. "I'm going home."

Joshua sighed. Neku was being stubborn. Joshua knew that to get through the kid, he couldn't use a direct approach, but he was in a bit of a hurry himself. He knew he indeed went too far with that though. He shouldn't have expressed his concern directly like that. It was out of character of him and Neku didn't like it either. But he was really in a rush of some sort. Why? Because he already knew that Sanae wasn't pleased to know he had broken the rules and interfered with a human's life in RG. He had also been kind of a bit negligant about the games, but hey, that's the benefit of having a Conductor, right?

Still, he didn't want the Higher Ups to get more pissed at him.

But he still wanted to make sure his little musician wouldn't go silent again once he left. He felt a headache coming as he watched Neku exiting the joint without sparing another glance at him. He had pushed the boy too far, that much he knew. But he really wanted to hurry and finish this task once and for all.

Alas, yeah, going to battle without strategy was foolish.

He sighed as he massaged his temple. This game had gone far more complicated than he had thought before. But he had engaged himself in this so he had to see it through to the end.

But in order to get through to Neku, he might need another week or so, depending on what kind of strategy he could come up with. Neku was a difficult challenge. He needed to plan everything carefully if he wanted to succeed.

He might as well go back to the drawing board.

* * *

><p>Neku grumbled as he dropped his head to the soft pillow behind him. He flipped through his old collection of CAT artworks magazine while not really looking at them at all. Joshua really knew how to push Neku's buttons and which buttons to push. He wasn't really angry at the kid, but he was annoyed that the silverette had to talk about him leaving Shibuya and insisted on making Neku partake in that dreaded topic.<p>

Dreaded?

Yeah, that's true, okay? Neku wasn't an eager beaver about the kid leaving Shibuya. He didn't want Joshua to leave. He hated farewells. Since he was small, he had watched how people come and go like the passing wind. He had seen how people would leave just as easily as they came. How his parents parted ways so easily after the divorce…

Neku wasn't fond of partings. But no, that had nothing to do with his antisocial attitude. That was another story. He just didn't like how Joshua had spoken about the dreaded parting so eagerly. Of course, he was probably just worried about Neku, but he could still talk with Joshua, right? After all, they could simply trade email address and there they have it. The way Joshua talked about it was like he had no more intention of keeping in touch with Neku. If he had only spoken about keeping in touch, Neku wouldn't be so pissed like he was right now.

But perhaps he had overreacted somewhat.

He felt like a great and utter tsundere right now.

He shook his head. No, if Joshua-prick wanted to make up with him about earlier, he had to initiate it. There was no way Neku was going to apologize first. Neku rolled around on his bed as he toyed with his mp3 player. He tried listening to several different songs with different moods for several minutes. He went silent for a minute before reaching for his cell phone from the side of his pillow. He let his fingers move as they wished before throwing the gadget back to its prior place. He buried his face in the pillow.

Stupid Neku, stupid.

* * *

><p>Joshua sighed as he toyed with his orange cell phone while raking his brain for ideas, <em>any<em> ideas. There had to be something…some way to cure Neku of his antisocial attitude. But he had to make Neku able to socialize better if he wanted the kid to stay away from his emo corner for good. Neku wasn't a bad person, no. He found out after hanging out with the kid for the last month. Neku just lacked trust in others. He lacked people he could trust. Once he trusted someone, he was just like any other person. But Neku was stubborn. He'd need at least another month if he wanted to make sure the kid stay social once and for all.

It'd be faster if he just put the boy in his game.

But before he had a chance to contemplate the idea, an incoming message distracted him. A small smile broke on his face as he read the simple message. Oh dear, dear Neku…he thought amusedly as he let out a small giggle.

"_Udagawa Backstreet, 5.15 sharp. Come late and you pay for all next week's lunches."_

The kid never ceased to stop amusing Joshua. It had only been a few hours and he had already surrendered and asking for another get together. Really, how more amusing can this kid get?

Seriously, it'll be a great waste for other people not to be able to see how amusing this little talent of Shibuya could get.

Joshua sighed as he stood up from his comfortable throne. He really needed to find a way to fix the kid's antisocial attitude once and for all. He needed to do that to ensure that Shibuya's worst person could reveal its beacon and shine its brightest.

* * *

><p>Neku had arrived early. It was only 5. Joshua was always half an hour late to the max so he was really early. He shrugged to himself. That didn't matter. The kid would show up sooner or later, so all he needed to do was wait. Usually he hated waiting. But he had felt bad for the earlier spat. He didn't want to apologize, though, at least not directly. He'd just take the kid to Dogenzaka for some ramen and then everything would be back to normal.<p>

He marveled for the thousandth time the greatness of the graffiti before him as a smile crept to his face. But he suddenly noticed someone else's presence around. He turned around, Joshua couldn't be earlier than him, right? That'd be the day. But no, it wasn't Joshua. On the contrary, it was definitely someone else Neku had never met.

The man was in his mid-thirties or something. He had spiky black hair and some unshaved beard. On the bridge of his nose, sat a pair of black glasses. He would've looked like your Shibuya's everyday people. Except for that thing that he held in his hand, glistening under the dim light in the backstreets.

Neku's eyes widened.

A loud bang.

And then he felt no more.

* * *

><p>Joshua had decided to be early for once. He walked leisurely towards him and Neku's usual meeting place. He was still deep in thought. But it wasn't about Neku for once. He was pondering about the Higher Ups' strange docility. To be honest, he had thought Sanae at least, would confront him about this and annoy him with his usual lectures. But no, the angels and his Producer had been so quiet lately that it was starting to bug him.<p>

Sanae was his 'watcher'. He would observe Joshua's actions, to make sure that he didn't cross the line. The barista wasn't that strict of a person, so he usually went easy on Joshua. Especially since Joshua wasn't someone who would just step out of bonds without a good reason. But still, that didn't mean that he could just leisurely violate the rules just like that.

He knew Sanae was one of the professional angels and was not someone to underestimate. He had never seen the angel particularly close enough to being serious, but…

That might be quite the enjoyment to see him angry, though. Perhaps he should try pulling a fast one on him sometimes. Perhaps he could be interested in duking it out with Joshua too.

Joshua was immediately pulled out of his train of thoughts when he heard a loud bang from around Udagawa. He frowned. What was that? He tried to listen, but he heard no familiar music. In fact, there was no music. It was a great utter silence.

A frightening silence.

But Neku was supposed to be there.

Joshua immediately broke into a mad dash at the thought as he run towards the backstreets. He came to a screeching halt as a view he never thought he would saw came into his vision. There, on the streets of Udagawa, Sanae Hanekoma, Shibuya's Producer stood with a gun still smoking from an earlier usage, with a lifeless boy by his feet.

And the lifeless boy happened to be Joshua's friend.

Joshua felt anger coursing through his vein and for a second, there was a white flame blazing around him as his form flickered between the Composer and his RG self. He glowered accusingly at the angel as he took a few steps closer to the pair.

"You have five seconds to explain, Sanae," he said threateningly. "What is the meaning of this?"

Sanae Hanekoma stared back at the Composer with an unwavering gaze. "You've let this little game to go on for far too long, J," he said, voice level. "I told the Higher Ups that you were just freeing yourself off your boredom and would soon be back anyway. I tried to persuade them to let you be for a while."

He took a deep breath. "But you really don't understand the gravity of your actions do you?" he said. "You know the rules Boss. You may **NOT** interfere with your charges' lives, lest of all befriending them. I wanted to believe that you'd get bored of it sooner or later, but…since you show no sign of wanting to stop…"

Joshua was silent, his form was still flickering back and forth. Sanae shook his head. "You knew about the rules, J. You accepted it on your own free will when you took the position," he stated. "I understand that you are yet young. And this is the first time you've had a real friend, but…this just can't do. He's alive, Boss. You know you are forbidden to associate with the living. You are dead. Long ago."

Joshua threw away his gaze as his form stabilized back into his normal RG self. Sanae sighed. "Listen J," he said. "Interfering with humans' lives is forbidden for a reason. Every rule has a reason. You don't know it yet but your presence is not of the RG's. You might be able to tune down your frequency, but your real frequency is far too high for the Real Ground to handle. You might cause a discord, or even worse, a complete halt to Shibuya's music if you stay here for too long."

The Producer took a deep breath as he watched his young Composer in his comfortable silence. "And besides, Boss, you've been neglecting your games. Thank goodness for Megumi, but still, you still need to be there. You **ARE** the judge of this game after all," he said forlornly.

Joshua didn't show any sign of reacting to his speech though, so he gave a defeated sigh and shrugged. "Alright, here's the deal," he said. "If you're so fond of this boy, you can keep him with you."

Joshua eyed the angel suspiciously. And sure enough, Sanae continued, "But, in order to do so," he said reluctantly. "You'd have to make him a reaper."

Joshua would've laughed. '_**Yeah sure, it would solve the problem veery nicely. Brilliant, Sanae**_,' he thought sarcastically as the angel looked at him sympathetically.

"You might even make him your Conductor if you wish, it's fine too," he said. "But you can't associate with him any longer as long as he's alive. I've given you a choice. The rest is up to you."

With that, he threw the gun to the Composer's feet, and along with it, a familiar black pin with the white skull pattern. He looked at the boy forlornly, waiting for the kid to make his decision. Joshua was silent for a while before giving a giggle as he toyed with a strand of his ashen colored hair. "Making him my Conductor? Really Sanae, what grudge have you with good old Megs, hmm?" he asked teasingly.

Sanae gave a small smile as he shook his head. "It's your choice, Boss," he said. "But whatever it is, you can't escape from punishment. The Higher Ups had ordered a '_repeat initiation_' for you. You know how it goes."

Joshua gave a leisure wave of his hand as an answer. Sanae gave a sigh as he turned around and started to leave. He paused mid-step as he eyed the Composer over his shoulder. "I'm sorry about this, J," he said softly. "You gave me no choice."

With that, he vanished in a ball of light. Joshua looked down at his feet. He picked up the gun and the pin and stared at them with a contemplating look.

Of course, taking Neku with him was always a choice he could take.

But he had been lying to him all along.

He wasn't a boy with traveler parents.

He wasn't a high scholar.

He wasn't alive.

He was Shibuya's guardian deity.

He was the Composer.

Taking Neku with him and explaining why he'd been lying to him might be possible even though it may take some time. Surely with time, Neku would understand. Perhaps he'd like the UG better than the RG, just like Joshua did.

He looked at the dead boy lying on the asphalt with unseeing eyes. He knelt down next to the body.

And he just stared

For a good five minutes, Joshua just stared at his friend.

He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He had made his choice.

* * *

><p>Orange.<p>

A deep orange was the first thing that he saw when he opened his eyes.

Neku Sakuraba groaned as he sat up and looked around. That's funny, when and how did he end up lying on the ground like that? Had he tripped and fell down or something? That would be too weird, since Neku wasn't a klutz. The funny thing was, he couldn't remember anything that had happened before he passed out.

He looked around. There was nobody. Perhaps Joshua hadn't arrived yet after all. Good, he didn't have to think about an excuse why he was lying around on the ground then. That'll be too complicated since he himself didn't know what had happened to him.

A single white feather faded unnoticed by him a good few feet away.

* * *

><p>Joshua counted the paving sadly as he walked them one by one. His head was jumbled with lots of things and none at once. <em>This<em>, was what he had feared. _This_, was what he was trying to avoid.

_This_ was the result of his choice.

He lifted his head. ShibuQ was filled with people as usual. Cars and motorbikes raced against each other as the traffic light fired the starting pistol. He looked at them and waited. Waited until the light returned to red.

Repeat initiation.

Of course, he knew that thing quite well.

So this was the punishment they picked for him…a transgression that he must pay with something that he had lost long ago.

A repeat performance of the very thing that had brought him to the UG.

A repeat death.

He felt guilty about how this thing's going to affect his little friend's life. But he had no choice. He wanted to avoid this if he could. He really did. But it was too late.

He didn't fear death, for it had passed, long time ago. A repeat performance was nothing compared to knowing how much pain it would inflict his friend. Being left behind was what most painful about death. The death wouldn't feel any more pain, the living would.

Death wouldn't be Neku's choice. It shouldn't be anybody's choice.

Taking the boy with him was never a choice. There was no such thing as taking a soul by force into the UG. No matter how bright the soul was. Life was everyone's right. Nobody had the right to deprive them of it. No matter who they were.

To be honest, Joshua never thought he would think of the boy as anything relatively close to friend. He had always believed he would be alone all his life. It was fine before. It was really before this that he never even once pondered if he had ever been lonely all his life.

Perhaps it wasn't that he wasn't lonely.

He just didn't know what loneliness was. That was all.

He preached about how people don't live alone, but perhaps he was only teaching himself about it rather than to his friend. Neku was like a disciple for him at first. He felt that he needed to teach Neku a lot of things in life. Unbeknownst to him, the disciple had become a teacher also for he taught Joshua things that perhaps he had always known but never realized. He had become someone of an equal to him.

Neku had become a precious friend for him. He regretted having to do this, but defiance would only result in something worse. He didn't want to inflict more pain that he already would with this.

Joshua sighed as he watched the traffic came to a slow halt. **'**_**I have taught you what I can in this short while. There's only one more thing I can teach you. One last thing I can give you as your friend.'**_

He stepped down the sidewalk. A lone car sped up.

_One last painful lesson…_

He eyed the car and its driver with an unreadable look on his face.

…_about death._

He closed his eyes.

'_**We part ways here.'**_

A loud crash.

Blood stained asphalt.

Darkness.

* * *

><p>Neku grumbled as he walked down the halls in utter annoyance. He was pissed off, and it was a mild way of putting it.<p>

Firstly, he woke up late today.

Secondly, he missed breakfast because of the lateness.

Thirdly, he was late to school from his lateness.

Fourthly, he forgot to bring his math homework, again, thanks to his lateness.

Neku swore under his breath. This was all thanks to Joshua. The brat didn't show yesterday. Neku waited and waited until the sun set, but still no sign of Joshua. He tried to phone the kid, but nobody answered. He tried to text him, hoping that he would at least bother to read it if he didn't want to speak to Neku.

But no, he didn't even text back.

And the result? Neku was up all night, worrying about the kid before finally getting pissed himself and decided to text him just to tell him to go fuck himself if he insisted on being childish. And after Neku had swallowed his pride wanting to hug it out with him too…

Screw Joshua. Screw everything.

He paused in front of his class as he looked through the window. Joshua's seat was empty. He rolled his eyes. Figures, the kid must've ditched school so he didn't have to meet Neku. Honestly, being childish was one thing, but this was just…gah.

"…an accident yesterday." Miss Ono's voice interrupted his train of thought as he tried to hide behind the pillar. He didn't know why he was getting antsy, but he figured the teacher would stop talking should she noticed his presence. Normally, he would just enter the classroom and ignore the teacher's scolding like a passing wind.

But she spoke about an accident or something.

This gotta be serious, he thought as he peeked from behind his hiding spot. He saw through the window as Miss Ono put on her glasses—apparently she had just put it on which was weird. Everyone knew Miss Ono was blind as a bat without them. Not wearing them was weird for her. He watched as she shook her head.

"This is such a shame," she sighed. "There were a few witnesses. Said he was trying to cross the street. But the car suddenly came out of nowhere and…"

Neku frowned. Obviously somebody from his school got caught in an accident. But who?

His eyes trailed to the empty seat beside his in the class.

He felt butterflies in his stomach.

No…no way…not that…

"…there was a phone call from the hospital this morning…about that accident that happened around 5.30 yesterday," she continued sadly, eyes brimming with tears.

Neku held his breath. Please…please let it be anyone but…

"…lost too much blood…he didn't make it…he..." she stifled a sob. "…Kiryu passed away last night."

Neku's eyes widened. He felt his legs trembled. He felt like throwing up. His mind flew to yesterday's event. 5.30…but that's…that was…

"…the accident happened near ShibuQ. So you guys better be careful around there from now on," Miss Ono said as she wiped the corner of her eyes. "And not just there. There's no telling when a reckless driver would appear and where. Even if the traffic lights are green, don't immediately cross the streets. You should take a lesson from this tragedy, do you understand?"

ShibuQ.

Neku felt his blood froze. He took short strangled breaths as he stared at his cell. All those harsh messages he sent…at those calls he made...

They never reached their intended recipient.

He never got them.

Joshua never meant to stand Neku up.

In fact, he was on the way to meet him when...

Neku felt nauseous. His mind was a total blank. He let his feet guide him out of the school. He didn't even bother thinking about the damned institute anymore. He just felt…numb. He just walked. There was nothing in his head. He just followed the streets and his feet, his heart and head heavy at the same time.

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of Udagawa's CAT graffiti.

Neku eyed the magnificent graffiti, but his eyes held no adoration like usual. He stared at the art but his gaze wasn't on it. He stared at the ghost of the boy who had brought him here.

The one who died trying to meet up with him.

The one he killed.

He fell on a sitting position as his legs gave up, his back against the graffiti wall. He stared at his palm. Ah, there are a few droplets of water. But it wasn't raining.

No, perhaps it was raining after all.

Neku's hand started trembling as he bit his lips. He buried his face in them and took a deep ragged breath. He wanted to scream, yell, curse at everything, but he couldn't find his voice. He just sobbed. He could only wish he could take back all of his harsh words and messages. He had told the kid to go to hell...to go fuck himself...to just stay away...even though they never reached him...

But still…

If only he knew Joshua would really…

If only he could take it back…

If only he hadn't been so anxious to make up…

If only he had agreed to just discuss his departure yesterday…

If only he could hold his temper for just a few minutes…

If only…

…_if only…_

Countless possibilities.

One truth.

Regret.

_Death._

* * *

><p>Neku didn't come to Joshua's funeral the next day. His teacher tried to call his mother, asking her if Neku was aware of the accident, for he didn't come to school the day she got the information about the tragedy. But Neku's mother denied the boy not going to school. As much as she knew, the boy did leave to school. Today was no different. He did leave. But Miss Ono replied saying that the orangette didn't attend class. He wasn't there when the class left together to the funeral.<p>

Where was Neku?

Neku had indeed ditched school those two days. He clasped his headphones around his head closely, turning the volume up so he was practically deaf to the world around. He wandered around Shibuya, remembering the days he spent together with his best friend.

He didn't have the courage to attend the funeral.

It was Neku who killed him after all.

He could only look at everything around him with nostalgic look that day. That transfer student had become his first and perhaps last best friend in just one short month of his stay in Shibuya. Neku had been grateful that he had the chance to know the kid. Even though it was short, they had been such a good time, and would become good memories. Painful, yes, but good nonetheless.

He turned to the Udagawa CAT graffiti and smiled wistfully.

He would've wanted Neku to move on.

It was hard but he would.

Even though he was alone right now, but it didn't matter. He would carry this guilt forever if he must. But he would live.

Solitude wasn't scary.

It was comforting.

It reminded him of the steps he and his best friend had walked together this past month.

Neku closed his eyes. He would miss the kid, even though he had no right to, he'd still miss him.

But he would move on.

Alone.

It was enough.

* * *

><p><em>Invincible.<em>

That was always the word for the Composer of a city.

Another word is '_solitude_'.

Solitude was something a Composer was accustomed to.

Since the beginning to the end, a Composer's job meant to be alone. There was no one to trust, no one to rely on. They could only trust themselves. Not even their Producer, their higher ups, can be trusted. Their Conductor was no different. Those who worked directly under them…who knows if one day they would try to take over the position from their superior? But to be honest, why would they want to, anyway? Have they got no idea how lonely being a Composer is?

No, of course they do. Everyone with half a brain would understand that there was no such thing as satisfaction for human. People would always strive to get something better each and every time. They wouldn't be satisfied, even if they owned the world. No person would be satisfied by just standing below someone else. No one liked to be governed forever. So it's just natural that people—reapers—would try to climb to the top and throw their superiors away from their soft, comfortable throne. Loneliness was nothing compared to the feeling of superiority and power. Oh, and how a Composer had a LOT of those.

And Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu understood that fully well.

Ever since he decided to take the throne from his predecessor years ago, he had known how lonely this job could be. But he was ready to go through it.

But even so…

Watching from the top of the tallest building in his little city, the Composer began to wonder. Was he really ready to go through all these?

Last month had really changed him somewhat.

A little boy he was determined to change had changed him as well. That was something he didn't expect. He and his understanding nature had somehow attracted the antisocial boy called Neku Sakuraba. And likewise, the boy's antisocial nature had attracted Joshua.

Joshua, who was ready to be alone for the rest of his life, was stitched back in the world of the living with a single monochromatic thread. It was a boy. A living boy who had made him wish he was still alive, and was capable of staying by his side, capable of supporting him as he grew up into something magnificent. Friendship was something he had never expected during this whole trial.

It was a decision he both regretted and not.

He regretted he had to go through this feeling called 'loneliness' starting from now on, thanks to his decision of wanting to change a boy.

But he didn't regret meeting his 'equal'.

Due to some circumstances called the Higher Ups, he had to eliminate all of the citizens' memories regarding himself. That didn't exclude Neku of course. There would still be a shadow though, a vague recollection of a transfer student that had enrolled in that school, the one who became friends with the school's infamous ice block.

But no one would remember his name, nor his face or anything else about him.

Just his existence.

_In this world filled with so many colors, black and white are often overlooked._

_But they existed whatsoever. As did the days the two friends spent together._

_And so…this bond, the reality of the past…_

Joshua watched as Neku Sakuraba walked through the crowds with his headphones strapped fast around his head. He watched as the boy's light tried to shine through the shrouding darkness around it. He watched at the boy whose memories about him were erased completely, leaving only a shadow of an unknown figure who was once his best friend.

There would come a time when the two would meet again. Surely next time, in this clouded city they both called home...

…_this single monochromatic thread that tied these two friends…_

The next time they met, they would no longer be best friends. They'd just be them.

…_even should memories fade…_

Just the Composer and his proxy.

…_just this bond__…_

_Shall remain._

_End  
><em>

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><p><strong>AN:**

Well, there you go. I hope it wasn't too sappy or too OOC. -.-'a I had this idea the other day and thought it'd be nice to put it into a story.

Good day, hope you enjoyed it and please R&R :3


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